Quique Flores: Praising Benfica's key man, criticism is tough | OneFootball

Quique Flores lavished praise on José Mourinho. In an interview with the Spanish press, the former Benfica coach, whose stint was an unfortunate one, discussed the clash between the Eagles and Real Madrid on January 28, and also spoke about the possibility of the Special One returning to the Spanish club.

"It surprised me. He wasn't in a good place at that moment and two circumstances occurred: Real Madrid played with very low energy levels and Benfica showed a lot of dedication, desire, and strength," the Spanish coach began, speaking to the newspaper AS.

"Like all coaches, Mourinho has also changed. Now he no longer constantly shows the character he used to. He has moderated his message and is probably a different Mourinho now. It's very hard for me to speak badly of him," added the Spaniard, who had already previewed the first European clash earlier.

"He is a coach who transmits so much energy to the players that, in the end, it even creates some tension. And when that happens... The atmosphere in football is already quite volcanic. José always pushes the players to their limits. Even though he is more moderate now, his message, in footballing terms, is the same: he wants committed players," he said in his conversation with AS.

"I'm not sure. The feeling is that he has a great relationship with Florentino [Pérez], he is one of the coaches the president liked the most. I don't know to what extent [his return] could become a reality," concluded Quique Flores, former Benfica coach.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.